As the Utah LDS Contingency at the World Jamboree, our boys have a mission above and beyond the opportunity to visit two new countries, meet new friends, and have a great time. They are there to represent our church and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Each of our boys was recommended by their scout leaders, and then needed approval from their Bishop and Stake President to attend Jamboree. In addition, each young man had to be temple worthy and an Eagle Scout (or in the process) to be allowed to go. Oh, and then there was the issue of earning enough money to go…
While at Jamboree, our boys participated in the Lighthouse Program, an interfaith meeting where people from the worlds' major religions shared their beliefs.
Remarks by some of the leaders-
“We were very prominent. LDS kids from four nations shared our beliefs and our boys sang three songs. They did an awesome job. The rain held off until they had sung, and then it came down with a vengeance. I don't know how many people were in attendance, but probably more than 5,000.”
“Parents: The Lighthouse Celebration, in which the different religions share the highlights of their faith, was the show in which we performed yesterday. We were the only group that had a choir. The practices were inspiring and tear-jerkers, while the performance itself was incredible. You should be proud of your boys!”
“We had a sacrament meeting today with scouts across the world. It was fun, the best of the talks was one that said puberty is defined as when parents get difficult.”
“The best way to describe the encampment is to picture the Quidditch World cup in your minds eye from the Harry Potter series. Big tents, flags flying everywhere and 40,000 people having a great time with a sprinkling of Country pride and a lot of camaraderie. Not to worry about a thing. I think the experience you have hoped and prayed for for your boys is upon us in abundance.”
Our Choir-
We found this photo of Caleb and were so excited to see his face!
Our church also has a tent where those interested can learn more about our beliefs and can research and print a copy of their family genealogy. The boys in our group should all have an opportunity to spend time there and hand out copies of the Book of Mormon.
Next Sunday night, they are scheduled to participate in a missionary zone conference in Copenhagen, Denmark and next Monday, they will be attending the Copenhagen Temple.
Several months ago, our Jamboree leaders thought they had everything set up to go to the temple, then everything started to fall apart. First there was opposition because our temples are closed on Mondays, but due to their tight schedule, this was the only day available for our boys to go. Next there were the issues of not enough Priesthood leaders and clothing for 160 boys. Our leaders (who work in their area temples at home) volunteered to assist. Then the First Presidency of our church got involved and asked that the Temple President extend a courtesy and allow our boys to come on a Monday. In exchange, they sent enough clothing to Denmark to clothe our group. After their visit, this clothing will be shared amongst the European temples.
The photos below were taken by my friend to be added with a group testimony in the copies of the Book of Mormon the boys will be handing out. They are such a great group of kids, but they are also a very lively bunch. I hope they are going easy on their leaders.
3 comments:
My friend's boy is over there too. Ask Caleb if he met Mason Graham from Salt Lake when he gets back. What an amazing summer Caleb has had!
Melissa, he would be with Caleb's group of 160. While they are sticking with their Crews of 40 and are not all in the same village at Jamboree, they have had activities together like the choir. I will absolutely ask him though. And yes, he has had an amazing summer. Not sure how we will top this.
This is so neat! I love hearing about it.
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